FAA: Debris may have fallen off plane over Charlotte Wells Fargo facility

The Federal Aviation Administration is investigating whether debris found near W.T. Harris Boulevard in north Charlotte is from an outbound American Airlines flight that declared an emergency Thursday evening.

FAA officials say American Airlines flight 730, an Airbus 330, was heading for Heathrow Airport in London when the crew reported a possible engine problem. The flight turned around and landed safely at Charlotte Douglas International Airport at 7:35 p.m., FAA officials said in a statement.

Charlotte police later told the FAA that officers had found debris near Interstate 85 and W.T. Harris Boulevard, the FAA said.

Witnesses in the area told the Observer that the debris fell near a parking deck at the Wells Fargo Customer Information Center facility at 1525 West W.T. Harris Boulevard. Investigators had cordoned off that area Friday for the investigation.

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FAA officials have not confirmed the exact spot where the debris fell and Wells Fargo officials declined to comment on the investigation.

It’s not the first time in recent memory that a piece of a plane has landed in the Charlotte area. In August of 2015, a small panel from an American Airlines flight fell from a plane landed near some golfers on a course in Mount Holly. The plane was preparing to land at the time, officials said.

One witness told WBTV he was golfing at about 8:20 a.m. with two other men they saw an object “falling from the sky, twirling around in circles and land approximately 40 yards to the right of the green” near the 7th hole.

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